Timothy-Hutton Movie Reviews

Despite being a romantic comedy, this is not your average chick flick. It is free of the saccharin sentimentality that makes many such movies unpalatable to most men (and to me.) Quirky and surprising, this movie will make you cackle with laughter if you are willing to immerse yourself, even momentarily, in its magic fate-driven atmosphere. This has a beautiful, old-fashioned feel to it, in the vein of "Breakfast at Tiffany's"--sweet but edgy. Though the characters are somewhat lacking in depth, they are not in charm. Timothy Hutton is quite yummy as the brainy and ironic professor, and Maria Grazia is both charismatic and unfairly sexy. Skip the big-budget Hollywood dross and indulge in this understated and memorable treat.

This is a great off-beat comedy. Very well done... albiet just a tad strange. But hey different can be good... and in this case it's very good. Excellent love story, starts off slow and then speeds up to a blur of events that really keep things interesting. I would have to say it's a bit like "2000 Cigarettes" in it's style... everything happens in one night and it leaves you going "wow" at the end.

Guys always seem to face a relationship hurdle, the movie to watch with the girlfriend(boyfriend). There aren't many movies out there that a couple can always enjoy together. Some women just can't take another viewing of Ronin or Get Carter (please find me one who can). This movie makes being a boyfriend movie viewer easy. Its witty, its funny, its well done, and at times it makes that single soap-opera tear very real. As you watch the series of events unfold, you just can't help but feel like you were Isaac, or Aurora. You feel for the characters and you feel for some reason, you start to feel for yourself. A must for any romantic at heart. A must for anyone who's a fan of good movies. A must for anyone who can't find a good DVD to watch in the dark as you cry over a lost soul. In general, a must.

While I agree with some reviewers who felt that this film started off strongly then fell off a bit as it progressed, I have to take issue with a couple of reviews that stated (not verbatim) that the racial politics of NYC as depicted in the film do not accurately reflect real life. One reviewer (the Amazon critic, I believe) went so far as to refer to the race dynamics in Q&A as far-fetched.

Wellllll.. as a Latino, raised in the Big Apple but having spent much time up and down the East Coast, I have to respectfully disagree on that one. Granted, Q & A does take liberties with the interpersonal-relationships-as-microcosm-of-the-social-picture thing, but the actors, some of whose performances go waaaay over the top, are more to blame than the story itself .

The film is based on a book by Edwin Torres, who also authored After Hours and Carlito's Way, both of which provided the basis for the Al Pacino starrer of the latter name. Torres, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, wrote these books while working as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan. He is now a Judge in Manhattan District Court. Point being that though the general suspicion and distrust among the races might appear to some of us in the 21st century as inaccurate, they are based on Torres' observations of the various peoples in and around Spanish Harlem during the 1960s and 70s, and are actually quite on target.

Anyone who has ever found themselves staring down the business end of a police department-issued service pistol during a routine traffic stop can attest to this. And I say this not as a gripe, or as a means of using this forum as an online soapbox, but to state that sometimes, just sometimes, the veracity of a world create for the screen but based on "real life" can only be determined by the subjective views of those who've experienced it, one way or the other. But don't take my word for it, ask a cop, white, black, Latino or whatever else, if race plays a part in how people treat him or her when they answer a call.

That said, Q & A does present a bleak, seemingly hopeless picture, but viewers shouldn't fault it for not providing cut-and-dried solutions to our social problems. Instead, watch it as a small slice of life, as experienced by a select few, and glean your own answers.

This is a must-have for anyone seeking a gritty portrait of the shadier slice of life in New York. This movie has it all- corruption in high places, police brutality, institutional racism etc. Nolte turns in a really great performance!

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A truly gripping, action-packed and yet really moving cop film with a _raw_ complex plot (no other way to describe it) and some absolutely brilliant performances by Nick Nolte (as Brennan, a puritanical white cop too blurred by his convictions to see the error of his racist, reckless ways), Armand Assante (as a latin drug warlord and the antagonist of Nolte's character) and Timothy Hutton (as Riley, an ex-cop lawyer assigned now by the DA's office to investigate Nolte).

This is no LA Confidential or City Hall because there is much lesser of Hollywood here. Instead, expect some in-your-face narrative of police corruption, compromised idealism, racism, even a pithy take on homosexuality. The biggest surprise is the Puertorican druglord character played to the T by Armand Assante, right down to latin American quirks and verbal cadence - easily Oscar nomination material.

What's a review without some gripes though, so here. The one thing that befuddles the plot a little is the character of Riley's subplot romantic interest. Lumet's daughter herself played this role and I found her to be more than a little taut. This little apparition of an ex-love will have you wondering about what it means to the story otherwise (clue: not much) especially a reference to Riley being surprised on seeing his latin american girlfriend's father because he was black. Why this was anything special I do not know -- I'd be surprised to have a latin girlfriend for 2 years and then see her father and find out that he was black. If there was some highfalutin racism meme intended, I'd venture to say it fell flat on its foot.

Secondly, perhaps some (only some) scenes may be a tad overdone in terms of their dramatic rendering e.g., a totally unnecessary scene with a transvestite prostitute snitching away in front of the druglord or a scene with Nolte dealing with prostitutes and actually groping one of them to determine whether (s)he was a woman. Such needless scenes, and there are preciously few of them thankfully, somewhat bogged down the otherwise perfect pace of the movie.

Nonetheless, this is quite an intelligent film with a very real, gripping theme and terrific acting all round. Definitely worth at least a good evening's rental.

While I agree with some reviewers who felt that this film started off strongly then fell off a bit as it progressed, I have to take issue with a couple of reviews that stated (not verbatim) that the racial politics of NYC as depicted in the film do not accurately reflect real life. One reviewer (the Amazon critic, I believe) went so far as to refer to the race dynamics in Q&A as far-fetched.

Wellllll.. as a Latino, raised in the Big Apple but having spent much time up and down the East Coast, I have to respectfully disagree on that one. Granted, Q & A does take liberties with the interpersonal-relationships-as-microcosm-of-the-social-picture thing, but the actors, some of whose performances go waaaay over the top, are more to blame than the story itself .

The film is based on a book by Edwin Torres, who also authored After Hours and Carlito's Way, both of which provided the basis for the Al Pacino starrer of the latter name. Torres, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, wrote these books while working as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan. He is now a Judge in Manhattan District Court. Point being that though the general suspicion and distrust among the races might appear to some of us in the 21st century as inaccurate, they are based on Torres' observations of the various peoples in and around Spanish Harlem during the 1960s and 70s, and are actually quite on target.

Anyone who has ever found themselves staring down the business end of a police department-issued service pistol during a routine traffic stop can attest to this. And I say this not as a gripe, or as a means of using this forum as an online soapbox, but to state that sometimes, just sometimes, the veracity of a world create for the screen but based on "real life" can only be determined by the subjective views of those who've experienced it, one way or the other. But don't take my word for it, ask a cop, white, black, Latino or whatever else, if race plays a part in how people treat him or her when they answer a call.

That said, Q & A does present a bleak, seemingly hopeless picture, but viewers shouldn't fault it for not providing cut-and-dried solutions to our social problems. Instead, watch it as a small slice of life, as experienced by a select few, and glean your own answers.

This is a must-have for anyone seeking a gritty portrait of the shadier slice of life in New York. This movie has it all- corruption in high places, police brutality, institutional racism etc. Nolte turns in a really great performance!

.
A truly gripping, action-packed and yet really moving cop film with a _raw_ complex plot (no other way to describe it) and some absolutely brilliant performances by Nick Nolte (as Brennan, a puritanical white cop too blurred by his convictions to see the error of his racist, reckless ways), Armand Assante (as a latin drug warlord and the antagonist of Nolte's character) and Timothy Hutton (as Riley, an ex-cop lawyer assigned now by the DA's office to investigate Nolte).

This is no LA Confidential or City Hall because there is much lesser of Hollywood here. Instead, expect some in-your-face narrative of police corruption, compromised idealism, racism, even a pithy take on homosexuality. The biggest surprise is the Puertorican druglord character played to the T by Armand Assante, right down to latin American quirks and verbal cadence - easily Oscar nomination material.

What's a review without some gripes though, so here. The one thing that befuddles the plot a little is the character of Riley's subplot romantic interest. Lumet's daughter herself played this role and I found her to be more than a little taut. This little apparition of an ex-love will have you wondering about what it means to the story otherwise (clue: not much) especially a reference to Riley being surprised on seeing his latin american girlfriend's father because he was black. Why this was anything special I do not know -- I'd be surprised to have a latin girlfriend for 2 years and then see her father and find out that he was black. If there was some highfalutin racism meme intended, I'd venture to say it fell flat on its foot.

Secondly, perhaps some (only some) scenes may be a tad overdone in terms of their dramatic rendering e.g., a totally unnecessary scene with a transvestite prostitute snitching away in front of the druglord or a scene with Nolte dealing with prostitutes and actually groping one of them to determine whether (s)he was a woman. Such needless scenes, and there are preciously few of them thankfully, somewhat bogged down the otherwise perfect pace of the movie.

Nonetheless, this is quite an intelligent film with a very real, gripping theme and terrific acting all round. Definitely worth at least a good evening's rental.

After the Death of his Father, a 11 Year Old Boy (Ricky Busker) runs away from Home and He Becomes friends with a Street Black Kid (Darius McCrary from the Hit T.V. Show-Family Matters), who teachs him the Way of the Mean Streets of the City.

Directed by Robert Mandel (F/X, School Ties, The Subsitute) made a Wonderful winning film. Exective Produced by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters). This is Written (Surprise) by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct). This is a Clever Entertaining Film for the Whole Family. This film has become a Minor Cult Classic. Panavision. Grade:A-.

It was an excellent film about a sheltered, inexperience white boy coming of age with the help of a street savvy young hoodlum. Recommended for all who want an enjoyable, funny, and relaxing film.

After the Death of his Father, a 11 Year Old Boy (Ricky Busker) runs away from Home and He Becomes friends with a Street Black Kid (Darius McCrary from the Hit T.V. Show-Family Matters), who teachs him the Way of the Mean Streets of the City.

Directed by Robert Mandel (F/X, School Ties, The Subsitute) made a Wonderful winning film. Exective Produced by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters). This is Written (Surprise) by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct). This is a Clever Entertaining Film for the Whole Family. This film has become a Minor Cult Classic. Panavision. Grade:A-.

It was an excellent film about a sheltered, inexperience white boy coming of age with the help of a street savvy young hoodlum. Recommended for all who want an enjoyable, funny, and relaxing film.

The comical story of a couple beyond having children getting surprised! Along with this, their spoiled daughter and her irresponsible husband are living with them under the same roof. Although the movie could have done without a few scenes, it was cute and heartwarming seeing how the family learned to deal with the surprise!

"Winds of Terror" is a wonderful despliction of the what-if question. It may not be a pretty movie, but the producers answer it in great detail. These events are similar to past disease outbreaks. The make-up team make the symptoms real looking. The actors and the crew are great. Though most of this film has been done before, it's still highly entertaining.

"Winds of Terror" is a wonderful despliction of the what-if question. It may not be a pretty movie, but the producers answer it in great detail. These events are similar to past disease outbreaks. The make-up team make the symptoms real looking. The actors and the crew are great. Though most of this film has been done before, it's still highly entertaining.

The Dark Half is my favorite Stephen King book and so naturally I wanted the movie to be just as good. Unfortunately I can't say that it is, although the film is somewhat true to the book. However, what comes across as eerie, creepy, or cool in the book comes across as silly and corny for much of the movie. The surgery scene, for example, where "George" is incised from Thad's head is hilarious if you haven't read the book, what with the eyeball staring out, almost as if it's saying "Feed Me"! In the book it was pretty darn scary. Performance wise, Timothy Hutton is right on, either as Thad Beaumont or George Stark. and the story is, like I said, pretty true to the book. But even the presence of the sparrows is laughable, again, if you haven't read the book. Now when I saw this I did have flashbacks to the actual reading of the book, and there were some genuine chills. But the book slays the movie any old day. Bottom line, if you're a serious Stephen King fan and you have to have everything with his name on it, go ahead and buy this movie. Or if you loved the book and want the film adaptation buy it as well. But if you're an occasional Stephen King fan or if you haven't read the book first, stay the hell away from this movie. I have to give George Romero credit for sticking with key elements of the book in his script, and some pretty good direction. But what scares in a book, in the mind's eye, doesn't necessarily translate to the silver screen!

Hutton is extremely good in two roles, playing Thad and his evil persona that turned into human form. somewhat of a slow pace, which lags this down a bit, but then the finale when evil Hutton gets ripped apart by all those sparrows that enter into the place is just awesome. there's a lot of evilness to the way Hutton puts it into his character and you can see that when he slices the victims up.

Thad Beaumont is a writer who goes public about the novels he wrote under an assumed name. Now his fictious counter part, George Stark (his Dark Half) has become a real physical person, and Stark is rather upset that he's been killed off. And now a battle to become the dominate personality has begun. I thought this was a terrific movie. George Romero and Stephen King have been friends a long time, and Romero's care really comes through in the material. Timothy Hutton plays a double role as both the clumsy Thad and the ruthless Stark, and he dose a wonderful job, he was very underrated by the critics. Michael Rooker's Sheriff Pangborn was a nice touch, a good, smart cop who's sympathetic to Thad's problem, at least as much as his rational mind will let him be. All the other characters and actors do a good job. The best is Thad's fellow professor, the least being Thad's wife. The action is rough and mean spirited, I loved it. The gore is actually pretty mnimal, but what's there is impressive. I recoment it whole heartedly.

The Dark Half is my favorite Stephen King book and so naturally I wanted the movie to be just as good. Unfortunately I can't say that it is, although the film is somewhat true to the book. However, what comes across as eerie, creepy, or cool in the book comes across as silly and corny for much of the movie. The surgery scene, for example, where "George" is incised from Thad's head is hilarious if you haven't read the book, what with the eyeball staring out, almost as if it's saying "Feed Me"! In the book it was pretty darn scary. Performance wise, Timothy Hutton is right on, either as Thad Beaumont or George Stark. and the story is, like I said, pretty true to the book. But even the presence of the sparrows is laughable, again, if you haven't read the book. Now when I saw this I did have flashbacks to the actual reading of the book, and there were some genuine chills. But the book slays the movie any old day. Bottom line, if you're a serious Stephen King fan and you have to have everything with his name on it, go ahead and buy this movie. Or if you loved the book and want the film adaptation buy it as well. But if you're an occasional Stephen King fan or if you haven't read the book first, stay the hell away from this movie. I have to give George Romero credit for sticking with key elements of the book in his script, and some pretty good direction. But what scares in a book, in the mind's eye, doesn't necessarily translate to the silver screen!

Hutton is extremely good in two roles, playing Thad and his evil persona that turned into human form. somewhat of a slow pace, which lags this down a bit, but then the finale when evil Hutton gets ripped apart by all those sparrows that enter into the place is just awesome. there's a lot of evilness to the way Hutton puts it into his character and you can see that when he slices the victims up.

Thad Beaumont is a writer who goes public about the novels he wrote under an assumed name. Now his fictious counter part, George Stark (his Dark Half) has become a real physical person, and Stark is rather upset that he's been killed off. And now a battle to become the dominate personality has begun. I thought this was a terrific movie. George Romero and Stephen King have been friends a long time, and Romero's care really comes through in the material. Timothy Hutton plays a double role as both the clumsy Thad and the ruthless Stark, and he dose a wonderful job, he was very underrated by the critics. Michael Rooker's Sheriff Pangborn was a nice touch, a good, smart cop who's sympathetic to Thad's problem, at least as much as his rational mind will let him be. All the other characters and actors do a good job. The best is Thad's fellow professor, the least being Thad's wife. The action is rough and mean spirited, I loved it. The gore is actually pretty mnimal, but what's there is impressive. I recoment it whole heartedly.